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Montessori Research & Development (MRD) develops, produces, and sells Montessori curriculum materials.
Founded in 1980

Dr. Pamela Rigg (then Pamela Lanaro) founded MRD in 1980 in response to an identified need for existing Montessori elementary materials to be updated and reflective of current research in the sciences. We continue to uphold that aim by committing ourselves to continual review and revision of our manuals and materials as new scientific information emerges. This means keeping abreast of the big and obvious “rulings” (like whether Pluto is a planet), as well as to the nuanced and unresolved debates in the scientific community (like whether eukaryote “tails” should be called flagella or undulipodia).

Research is a Key

Research, in a broader sense, also informs the development of our non-scientific materials. For example, before we introduced our Green Series in 2008, we evaluated all possible ways to structure the phonograms. Creating the right structure for organizing information is central to our development philosophy. MRD continues to grow with the Montessori community, creating materials to address the needs of Montessori teachers and children. We always welcome suggestions for new materials or comments on ones we have already made!

CLASSROOM MATERIALS
Our Team

Meet the researchers, developers, and creators of our materials and manuals.

Pamela Rigg

Dr. Pamela Zell Rigg received her AMS Early Childhood Teacher Credential in 1967 and subsequently earned her AMS Elementary and Infant and Toddler credentials. Dr. Rigg’s degrees include a BA In English Literature and an MA in Early Childhood Education from New York University. Additionally, she has an MA in Educational Psychology from the University of Arizona.

Linda Aaquist

Linda Aaquist holds a B.S. and AMS Early Childhood, Elementary I and Elementary II Teacher Credential. She has taught in Montessori classrooms for over 30 years and brings her passion and expertise in science to the Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Functional Geography, Physics and Zoology.

Judy Bauerlein

Judy Bauerlein holds an M.Ed. and AMS Early Childhood, Elementary I and Elementary II Teacher Credential.

Virginia Fleege

Dr. Virginia Fleege founded the Midwest Montessori Teacher Training Center in Evanston, Illinois, with her husband, Dr. Urban Fleege, in 1965.

Virginia Varga

Virginia Varga, Ph.D. is founder and former Director of Gloria Dei Montessori School in Dayton, OH. Ginny is an internationally known Infant and Toddler specialist.

Jane Wechlser

Jane Wechlser holds an M.A. and an AMS Early Childhood, Elementary I and Elementary II Teacher Credential. She founded The Montessori Family Schools in the Berkeley

Our Materials
Identifying a need for classroom ready materials compelled MRD to introduce the first elementary cardstock materials. Three-part cards, booklets and wall charts are the trademark of our materials. The materials are in color and cut to size.
All of our materials are laminated and we offer material containers for shelf display. All of our materials (except Word Study) are printed on 100lb cover paper and laminated (front and back) with 3mil thickness. Word Study is printed on 20lb paper with 1.5mil laminate thickness.
Classroom Materials
All nomenclature materials follow the same dimensions:
Elementary Nomenclature sets
  • one or more coil-bound booklets that measure 5.5″ x 4.25″
  • picture cards that measure 4.25″ x 4.5″
  • labels that measure 4.25″ x 1″.
Early childhood nomenclature sets
  • one or more wall charts that measure 8.5″ x 11″
  • one or more coil-bound booklets that measure 5.5″ x 4.25″
  • picture cards that measure 4.25″ x 4.5″
  • definitions that measure 4.25″ x 3.75″
  • labels that measure 4.25″ x 1″.
Our Teacher Manuals

All of our manuals are printed on 20lb paper with 95 brightness.

Three-Part Card Rationale

Montessori Three-Part Cards refer to card materials that children manipulate in order to internalize the information on the cards. The Montessori Early Childhood Three-Part Card consists of a card with the picture with word label, a card of the picture, and a card with the word label.
For the 3-6 year old child, the task is simply to match the picture to the picture and the word to the word.
The Montessori Elementary Three-Part Card also has three parts. But, there is a picture, a separate word label, and description/definition of the picture/word label.

The Challenge

The challenge with the 3-part cards is not to confuse the simple task of matching the picture with the word as the final goal. Rather, the task for the child is to manipulate the information often enough and in various ways as to master the information.
Sometimes both the teacher and the child confused the real goal mastery of information with the intermediary goal of simply matching. Children can pair up and use the 3-part cards as card games in which cards are drawn and children have to ask for the cards they need in order to complete a set. Memory- all the cards are turned down and children’s task is not to remember the position, but, simply a tactic to stimulate interest
Classroom Materials
We continue to develop materials and manuals

We continue to develop materials and manuals based on needs of the Montessori community. We welcome your requests.

Are you starting a teacher training program?

Do you already have a program but would like to assess your manual options?